Skip to main content

Ultimate Explanations

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
  • 1281 Accesses

Abstract

A powerful, not fully comprehensible instinct to understand lies dreaming in us. We would like to have everything fully comprehended, explained, and proved. So that there should be nothing left without its cause, moreover a cause that would remove all the anxiety of doubt and all the question marks. The grander the matter, the more we want to have it explained, to eradicate even the slightest suspicion that things might be otherwise. This longing for “ultimate explanations” is not fully comprehensible in itself, and when we want to understand it a nagging question inevitably arises: what does “to understand” mean?

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Heller .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Heller, M. (2009). Ultimate Explanations. In: Ultimate Explanations of the Universe. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02103-9_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02103-9_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-02102-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-02103-9

  • eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics